Cheerilee's Garden(车厘子的花园）Part.8

转自Fim Fiction,原作者系Unahim
下为原文
The wall finally swung open. Twilight had found exactly what she had been looking for, but sadly it had been hidden just as cleverly as she had feared. There wasn’t any visual distinction between the secret buttons and the stones that surrounded them at all, so she assumed Cheerilee had them all memorised. She was impressed despite herself. Amongst her friends, Rarity probably had the eye for detail required for things like this, but her rather limited field of interests worked against her. Twilight couldn’t say her memory was anything remarkable, either. For Cheerilee to be capable of a feat like this...

She dashed into the inner sanctum, and was relieved to find only one path open to her. That made it a lot easier; she could have methodically searched the entire area, of course, but she knew she was running out of time. She didn’t know exactly what Cheerilee had lined up for her friends, but it couldn’t be anything good. After all, she was likely the one behind the theatre fire as well.
The unicorn followed the twisting hallway around every turn, galloping as fast she could. It didn’t take her long to arrive at the staircase at all, and there she made a startling discovery.

“Oh Celestia, Spike!”
She ran over to his side, dropping down next to him to examine his wounds. She instantly spotted the stab wound in his chest, and her blood froze in her veins. There was no way anypony could survive a stab straight through the heart without medical care, even if he happened to not be a pony at all.
“Oh Spike...” she whispered as tears filled her eyes, and she drew the dragon’s limp body into a shaky embrace.
“T... Twilight?” Spike said, as he opened his eyes slowly against all expectations.

“Spike!” Twilight yelled out in pure happiness and joy. “I thought... I thought you... How?”
He grinned at her smugly, if a bit weakly. “Dragons... have their hearts... on the other side,” he said as he patted the right side of his chest. “I... just passed out... from shock.” And blood loss, he thought, but he didn’t want to worry her by saying it out loud. There was nothing she could do right now.
“Twi... Rarity... Rarity is... And... a-all... the others...”
The unicorn looked at Spike’s tormented face and the tears running down his cheeks, and she instantly knew what he was trying to say. She felt sick, and if she’d been standing up she’d probably have been swaying on her hooves.

“How do you... ?” she asked carefully.
“C-Cheerilee told me... about... them, and t-then... I... I woke up, briefly... and... h-heard the... the screams...”
They remained silent for a moment, not knowing what to say. Or, rather, they both knew that there was nothing to say; their friends were dead, or well, their condition was uncertain at best. Twilight wouldn’t allow herself to believe anything Cheerilee said before confirming it with her own eyes. There was but one way to save everypony who was left--no matter if that was just the two of them or some of the others as well--and they were both well aware of the odds. Running wouldn’t help now, not when Cheerilee knew the entire fortress inside-out.

“I... I have to take out Cheerilee,” Twilight said, almost surprised to hear herself say it.
“I... I know... go... I’d... I’d just... h-hold you back... I’ll, r-rest here,” Spike said with some effort.
Twilight nodded reluctantly. She wasn’t stupid, she knew it was their best shot, their only shot, but she didn’t have to like it. More than anything she wanted to just curl up in a ball and cry, but she knew she’d lose everything she had left if she did.
“I’ll be back for you, I promise!” she said as she stood up and dashed up the stairs as quick as she could, to prevent herself from changing her mind. Tears stung in her eyes, but she had work to do.

“I know...” Spike said weakly, as he took out the parchment, the ink and the quill he always carried with him.
Nopony else even knew where he kept them, and nopony ever asked. It was kinda like a silent mutual agreement; he didn’t ask where they all kept their bits, they didn’t ask him about the parchment, ink or the quill. It worked.
He rolled around and put the parchment on the floor, dipping the quill into the ink as he started writing with a shaking hand, black spots swarming in front of his eyes. He couldn’t think straight, so he just kept it as concise as possible, fearing he didn’t have enough energy for a longer message.

Ruins in Everfree.
Everypony else is dead.
Twi went after Cheerilee.
Send help.
He had barely finished writing the last sentence when he lost all feeling in his fingers, and the quill simply slipped out from between them. He took in as deep a breath as he could manage, and spit out a pitiful flame. He’d never produced a flame this small in his life, but it was sufficient, as it fed upon the paper and quickly empowered itself. The princess would get his letter.
He smiled. Rarity had been his crush, but he had known Twilight his entire life. It had felt wrong to leave without seeing her one last time, but now he felt at peace. He was at his limit, he couldn’t hold on any longer. He closed his eyes and quietly passed away, content knowing that--because of him--help was on the way.

***
Twilight rushed up the stairs, but she came to an abrupt halt upon entering the room that lay beyond. Cheerilee hadn’t bothered to clean up after herself, so Rarity’s bloody remains were still up for display. Twilight felt her knees go weak, and she supported herself against the wall as her stomach emptied herself all over the floor.
“Cheerilee...” she whispered through clenched teeth, “I’ll make you pay for what you’ve done...”
She breathed in and out deeply, slowly regaining her composure. A door on the other side of the room seemed to be the only other exit besides the stairway she had just climbed, so Twilight assumed Cheerilee had escaped in that direction. There was no way to be sure, though, as there were probably plenty of secret passages around this area as well.

She slowly walked over to the other side of the room--averting her eyes from the grisly scene in the middle--and pushed open the door. A dark hallway lay beyond, which didn’t seem to have any distinct features to speak off. Twi entered it only hesitantly, fully aware of the fact that it could easily be yet another trap. But then, what else could she do? Anything but a straight rush towards the finish was clearly in Cheerilee’s favour, as Twilight couldn’t really prepare against a possible attack, while Cheerilee had plenty of things she could spend preparation time on.

She started to gallop, her eyes zooming from left to right, but nothing happened. She reached yet another door without incident, and took a deep breath. She had a feeling she already knew what lay beyond.
“Welcome, Twilight,” Cheerilee said as the purple unicorn entered the room. “Why don’t you lie down and get comfortable?”
Twilight looked around, and found the room to be mostly featureless. It was circular in shape, and empty apart from a table in the middle and a chair on the opposite side, which Cheerilee was sitting in. The table had two metal cuffs at both ends, and their intended purpose was clear.

“No thanks,” the purple unicorn said.
Cheerilee sighed. “We both know you cannot win, Twi, why fight fate any longer? Your end will be the same.”
Twilight pointed at her adversary. “I see Spike managed to get one on you; I can’t let him beat me, now can I?”
The fuchsia-coloured mare gritted her teeth and leaned forward. She didn’t want to be reminded of that. “Enough words.”
Cheerilee surged forward, jumping over the table elegantly as she charged straight for the unicorn, who braced herself. Twilight managed to jump out of the way of the first punch, but the second one hit her straight in the face, and she staggered backwards. In truth, she was severely outmatched, as Cheerilee had her beat both in strength and experience. She could only rely on her sharp wits, but as Cheerilee wasn’t unintelligent either it really didn’t do her much good.

Twilight retaliated, but Cheerilee dodged her with ease. “Give it up, Twi,” she taunted as she jumped to the side. “You unicorns may pretend to be the superior race, but we’re playing by earth pony rules now.”
Twilight backed away, creating a momentary lull in the fighting. “I can handle myself without magic just fine.”
Cheerilee sneered as she started to circle her opponent. “Last Winter Wrap-Up suggests otherwise.”
The unicorn charged forward, her head lowered, lining up her horn with her opponent. If she couldn’t use it for spells, she could at least try to gore with it, right? But such an attack was far too direct to have much chance of success against Cheerilee, who simply stepped aside and lifted one of her hooves. Twilight tripped and rolled over the floor, coming to a sudden stop as she crashed into the table in the middle of the room. She scrambled to her hooves, but Cheerilee was immediately upon her once more, delivering blow upon blow all over Twilight’s body. The unicorn could do nothing but weakly raise her forelegs in an attempt to protect herself, as Cheerilee raged on unabated. Suddenly, Twilight saw her chance, and she gripped both of Cheerilee’s forelegs with one of her own, struggling for control.

“You’re the reason... all your friends... are dead, you know,” Cheerilee said with a grunt, as she slowly forced back Twilight’s hooves.
“I... refuse... to... believe... they’re... dead!” Twilight said stubbornly, fighting on despite the bleakness of the situation.
Cheerilee grinned and suddenly threw all of her weight on just Twilight’s right foreleg, pushing her aside and slamming it down upon the table. She rammed her head against Twi’s at the same time, and the purple mare saw stars floating around her head. That brief moment of dizziness was all Cheerilee needed to slip one of the cuffs around Twi’s foreleg, and she jumped back triumphantly, panting slightly. Twilight was out of breath, and her foreleg was twisted into a rather awkward angle, which caused her a great deal of discomfort.

“You’ve lost,” Cheerilee said triumphantly.
“No, I... I can still... I can still fight!” Twilight said louder than needed, obviously trying to talk some confidence into herself.
Cheerilee was clearly unimpressed as she moved in again, easily ducking under Twilight’s amateurish jabs. The teacher lunged forward and wrapped both of her forelegs around Twi’s chest, bear hugging her tightly. The unicorn let out some choked sounds, as she started to feebly hit Cheerilee’s back with her free hoof, but it was largely ineffectual. The teacher simply lifted her up and slammed her down upon the table, thoroughly knocking the wind out of her, and dazing her for a few seconds. That was all Cheerilee needed to cuff both of the unicorn’s hind legs as well, and with that the fight was pretty much over.

“More bark than bite, just like that annoying pet of yours...”
Twilight struggled against her bonds, trying to free her right foreleg with her left, but without a key she’d never succeed. “You’ll never get away with this, Cheerilee! Somepony will notice we’re gone, and then they’ll come after you.”
Cheerilee laughed. “You mean to say you’ve told anypony about me?”
Twilight remained silent. They hadn’t actually known Cheerilee was behind Twist’s abduction, and at the time she had thought that there was no time to delay, so they hadn’t actually told anypony much of anything...

“No, but my friends will-”
“Your friends are dead, Twilight,” Cheerilee roughly interrupted her. “You’re the last living soul in this entire fortress, besides me. All the others died by my hooves...”
“I don’t believe you!” Twilight yelled. “Why should I believe you? You’re just trying to trick me into-”
Cheerilee suddenly grabbed Twi’s left foreleg, and forced it down towards one of the iron cuffs as well. Twilight wasn’t in any position to resist by this point, and her weak “No, wait!” didn’t manage to sway Cheerilee either.

“You want proof? I’ve got proof.” Cheerilee said with a smile as she reached underneath the table, revealing the jar she’d been moving around all this time. The glass was smeared with blood on every side, but it was still easy enough to make out the individual contents. She shook the jar in front of Twi’s face. “Applejack’s honest tongue, a piece of Rainbow Dash’s loyal heart, Pinkie Pie’s smiling lips and Rarity’s eye for fashion. I’m afraid I wasn’t able to retrieve a piece of Fluttershy.”

“N-no... T-that c-can’t be,” Twilight said shakily as she shook her head, tears appearing in the corners of her eyes as all colour flushed from her face. “Y-you’re lying, t-those aren’t...”
Cheerile put the jar on the edge of the table as she climbed up, pressing her body down against Twi’s as she softly started to stroke the unicorn’s mane. “Oh Twilight...” she said gently, “that brain of yours is your biggest selling point, don’t insult yourself by clinging onto irrational hopes... You know I wouldn’t simply happen to be carrying around a jar of pony bits.”

“B-but why?” Twilight said softly as her voice broke, and tears started to stream from her eyes. “What did we... what did we ever... d-do to you?”
“‘We’? No, just you, Twilight. You brought Canterlot’s corruption into this town. You corrupted my students, your friends, all of them!” Cheerilee said, suddenly angry. “You made them all weeds, and weeds are cast out, Twi, and I’m the only one who can! I’m the only one who can keep Ponyville clean from weeds like YOU!”
Twilight whimpered, making herself as small as she could while shaking all over. Cheerilee’s voice had gradually become louder and louder during her rant, to the point where she’d basically been shouting Twilight down at the end.

“But you know, Twi,” Cheerilee whispered into her ear, “I know you too are a victim, in the end... You’re intelligent, kind, but even you got caught up in the web of lies and deceit in the end...”
Twilight was surprised by the gentle tone of Cheerilee’s voice, but she was even more surprised when the mare suddenly locked her lips to hers, kissing her deeply, pressing up against her body. Cheerilee kept it up for well over a minute, and Twilight’s brain melted in her head, unable to figure out what the buck to do.

Cheerilee finally disconnected her lips from Twi’s again and panted, her cheeks flushed with a deep shade of purple. Twilight felt both bewildered and embarrassed, not sure what to make of the entire situation, and feeling more than a little violated.
“W-why... d-did y-you...”
“A sharp mind gets me going,” Cheerilee said with a sly grin. “And was that your first kiss, Twi?”
Twilight’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment despite herself, and she turned her head away, unwilling or unable to reply. Cheerilee grinned lasciviously, having gotten all the answers she needed.

“Well, I’m afraid we still have business to conclude,” Cheerilee said with the closest thing to regret she was capable of. “I can’t let you go unpunished, Twi, but I’ll make it quick...”
“N-no! No wait! I-if you let me go, I swear... I swear I won’t tell anypony!” Twilight said as she burst into tears again. “P-please, d-don’t kill me! Please!”
“Ah, don’t worry Twilight,” Cheerilee said as she tapped the jar next to her, “your friends are here for you. Although,” she said ponderously, “perhaps they could be a little bit... closer.”

She opened the jar and held it in one hoof, as she suddenly stomped the unicorn in the side, without warning.
“Guh!”
Cheerilee jammed the jar into Twilight’s now opened mouth, emptying the contents inside of her. Twilight gagged and tried to spit them out again, but Cheerilee was prepared for that. She threw the jar aside (shattering it on the floor) and pushed her hooves up against Twilight’s chin and lips, rendering her unable to open her mouth. All she managed to do was make some blood dribble out of the corners of her mouth, but that was pretty much it. She started to go green as she felt her friend’s body parts roll over her tongue, and her efforts to spit them out grew increasingly desperate.

“Hmmpffh! Hmmpffh!”
“You’re going to want to chew,” Cheerilee said with her classroom-voice, “else you’re going to choke.”
Twilight gingerly started to move her teeth up and down, as her gag reflex started to make her feel as if she was choking already. Pony teeth really weren’t designed for meat, but they still managed to cut Applejack’s tongue and Rainbow Dash’s piece of heart into smaller bits, crushing them into a bloody paste. Rarity’s eye got caught between Twilight’s teeth as well, and promptly burst open, releasing the inner-eye fluids into her mouth. This finally proved too much for the unicorn and she tried to hurl, but nothing came up as she already emptied her stomach earlier. All it did was hurt her throat, which reinforced the feeling of choking even more. She started to swallow reflexively, downing a little bit of the mouthful each time, until eventually her mouth was empty, and she really felt about ready to die.

“All gone?” Cheerilee said gleefully. “Good girl.”
She finally let go of the unicorn, and Twilight immediately rolled her head to the side and started to spit, trying to get the horrible taste out of her mouth, her insides feeling as if someone had tied a knot in her intestines.
Cheerilee left her to it, as she slipped off the table and walked over to her chair, retrieving the knife she had left there. She returned to the middle and climbed onto Twilight again, who was now sobbing quietly, apparently broken by her ordeal.

“Look at me,” Cheerilee said in a neutral tone of voice, only to scream: “LOOK AT ME!” when the unicorn didn’t respond right away.
Twilight shakily focused her gaze upon Cheerilee, tears cascading down her face. The fuchsia-coloured mare smiled and looked down into the unicorn’s eyes as she caressed her cheek.
“It’s time,” she said as she rammed the knife into Twilight’s side, hot blood dripping down the side of the table. The unicorns eyes widened, and she let out a choked scream. Cheerilee stabbed her again and again, until her victim was bleeding out faster than a gutted pig.

“Ssshhh, sshhhh...” Cheerilee soothed Twilight. “It’ll be over soon now...”
“I... d... don’t... w... want to... want to... d-die...” the unicorn said weakly, as the colour drained from her face and her breathing became troubled.
Cheerilee put her lips right next to Twilight’s ear, and whispered: “Your last breath... Give it to me...”
She put her lips over Twilight’s again and forced her tongue into the unicorn’s mouth, relishing in the lingering taste of blood within. This time Twilight wasn’t as taken aback as before, but she was way too weak to resist--although she did struggle against her bonds weakly. Cheerilee started to shake with excitement as she felt the other mare’s body grow colder and colder, and her struggling weaker and weaker. By contrast, the teacher’s kiss grew more passionate by the second, and pretty soon she was panting into the unicorn’s mouth, while Twilight’s breathing grew shallow and laboured.

Finally, the unicorn breathed out one last time with a final, desperate, muffled cry, and then all of her bodily functions ceased. Cheerilee broke off the kiss as she literally felt Twi’s body go still underneath her own, and a wave of excitement overtook her senses. She clamped her legs around Twi as she felt them turn to jelly, her whole body shuddering and shaking, momentarily rooting her in place as she panted, breathing in and out raggedly.
She threw her head back and let out a moan, before collapsing on top of Twilight in a heap, feeling thoroughly worn out even though she had barely undertaken any action. She continued lying there for a while, catching her breath and basking in the afterglow of her victory.

She eventually slid off the table, taking a few unsteady steps on her wobbly legs, as she started heading towards the exit.
Her work was finally done, her quest had come to an end. It hadn’t been a pretty job, but somepony had to do it, right? And if she happened to have made it a little bit more enjoyable here and there... who could blame her?
She’d have to lie low for now, wait for yet another investigation to blow over, probably. There were no ties to her this time, though, so she supposed she’d be alright. Ponies were used to her spending holidays at home during the school year, so her alibi wasn’t much of a bother.

Ponyville was safe now, and that was great, but she silently wondered if she wouldn’t start to long for some more weeds to exterminate after a while.
She smiled. There was always Canterlot...
***
A lone spirit wandered through a sea of darkness, lost, alone and afraid. It had no purpose, no shape, no form; it was just like the bleak expanse all around it. It seemed like the void was all there ever had been, all there ever could be, but slowly the spirit became aware that this wasn’t true. Within the darkness there was a single speck of light, a beacon that beckoned to the spirit, a beacon which promised to lead it home, back to the place where it belonged. Eagerly the spirit started to surge towards it, moving in a way that wasn’t entirely physical, while at the same time it was.

As it drew closer, the difference between it and the darkness all around grew more distinct. The spirit first became aware that it wasn’t an ‘it’ at all: it was female. Or at least, she had been in life. Life. It seemed like a new concept to her, but at the same time it was eerily familiar. For some reason she yearned for it, and with that yearning yet another concept was introduced to her: emotions. They seemed unnecessarily complicated at first, but as the light illuminated her more and more, she began to see the reason behind their existence. Memories started to flood what she now recognised as her mind, memories of friends, home, family. They were accompanied by feelings of happiness and joy, but also of great sadness, and loss.

With the memories of her friends came memories of herself, too. She hadn’t always been a spirit, she had been a pony. Not just a pony, she had belonged to a certain race as well: she had been a unicorn. But there were many unicorns, and each one of them was, in his or her own way, unique. Each one was an individual, with a name that suited them, and elegantly captured the meaning behind their existence. Hers had been... Twilight Sparkle.
The spirit finally reached the beacon of light that lay at the centre of her universe, and she surged forwards at once to investigate. There was a sort of mirror hanging there in the darkness, showing her images of a world once very familiar to her. She saw her own body lying upon a wooden table, limp, lifeless, wounded. An incredible yearning overtook her; she longed to break through the mirror, to be reunited with her body, despite the shoddy condition which it was in. But that was impossible. Or was it?

As a unicorn, magic was her heritage. It was her right by birth, and she had pursued it almost her entire life. In that respect, she was part of an elite even amongst unicorns, holding within her the potential to rise above her kin, to develop powers most ponies could scarcely even dream of. All she had needed was time, but that time was stolen away from her. She mentally assaulted the barrier between the worlds, but it would not let her pass. She wasn’t sure if she was simply not strong enough, or if she was being hindered by the fact that her body was in a place that magic could not reach. She focused, and her ethereal mind expanded in every direction; she wasn’t going to give up that easily. She still had a score to settle.

It is often said by sages and mystics that the body is a barrier, a hurdle one has to overcome in order to reach true understanding. Twilight realised now that this was true. Freed from her mortal coil, her mind seemed limitless and quickly expanded across the void, strengthening her will and broadening the basis of her understanding. Another beacon lit up in the darkness, this time inside of herself. It was a power she recognised and cherished, but which she had thought inaccessible. She had been mistaken.

There is a hierarchy, a natural order, woven into every part of the world, ingrained into the very fabric of existence. So too for magic. Nightmare Moon had wielded magic of a most terrible nature, and her followers had mastered those dark arts for themselves, easily smothering every inkling of magic Celestia’s followers had brought to bear against them. But even they hadn’t been invincible. Even Nightmare Moon had to bow her head before a greater power--an unstoppable force--in the end.

There was no resisting when the Elements of Harmony were involved, for they were unequalled.
Twilight felt her element, the element of magic, resonate within herself. She had long thought that the jewels--now held at Canterlot--were the true Elements of Harmony, and that she and her friends merely drew out the power contained within. But now she realised that the reverse was true. The jewels held no power of their own, they were only there to guide, to channel, to awaken... They started the process, but in truth, they fostered the power within. It was all so obvious now.

And with that realisation came new found understanding. The reason there were five necklaces and one tiara became clear: their function was different. The necklaces served to channel power into one point, the tiara unleashed it upon the world. In a way, Twilight and her friends had emulated a single entity--like Celestia, the wielder of the elements that came before them. They had been six pieces of a whole, but with only one mind to guide them. Hers.
She unleashed the power within her, sending shockwaves of magical energy coursing through the void. Five beacons of light--almost impossibly bright against the background of complete darkness--jumped into being in the distance, and Twilight smiled. Even though the Elements of Harmony had fallen, their energy lingered, ready to be called upon one last time, for one final battle.

A wave of colour swept through the void as power surged through the darkness, beams of light connecting Twilight to the five other beacons. Her spectral form almost burst under the pressure, but she was able to contain it all, to draw it all within herself. It was time.
The barrier between the worlds shattered into a million pieces, and Twilight Sparkle opened her eyes.
***
Twilight opened her eyes, and the discomforts of the mortal plane forced themselves back upon her in an instant. Her body was still technically too weak to sustain itself, but that was no longer a problem. Instead of blood, pure magical energy ran through her veins, and her wounds instantly sealed themselves. The weight of the fortress’ magical enchantments bore down upon her mind, but it was easy for her to resist it. The walls were directly connected to the enchantment, and they groaned under her incredible power.

For a moment, it seemed like the fortress had the unicorn beat, but Twilight still had more up her sleeves. She dug deep into her magical reserves, and send a wave of energy pulsating through the entire complex, shattering the magical enchantment once and for all. Free of restrictions, she immediately tore off the metal cuffs that had been holding her body in place, and got up from the table swiftly.
The walls shook and shuddered, and pieces of stone the size of her head came down from the ceiling, as the ancient fortress finally started to act its age. Without magic to support it, the structural weaknesses that had built up over the centuries took their toll, and Twilight didn’t doubt that the entire place would be coming down around her any second. She closed her eyes and her mind expanded, searching for signs of life nearby. Her heart ached as she realised she was the only living soul in the entire complex; Spike hadn’t made it.

She repressed her grief as she continued searching in wider and wider circles, filtering out the abundance of life she sensed in the woods, until she finally found the pony she’d been looking for on the edge of town. She frowned; she had been out of it for far longer than she had realised, but then again, it was hard to keep track of time when you were a disembodied spirit floating in the void.
She took a deep breath and winked away with a flash, as the entire fortress collapsed in upon itself. Her friends were long gone, but they had lent her their strength for one last time, and she knew why: They wanted Cheerilee to pay for what she’d done, and pay she would.

***
It was already getting dark by the time Cheerilee reached the edge of town. She smiled; she had finally made it. The trip through the woods had made her quite nervous, as she realised how ironic it’d have been if she got mauled by some wild animal on her final trip home. Luckily, there had again not been a single one in sight. She’d even been able to safely make a detour through the marshes, where she had quickly disposed of the entrance crystal she had used to open the fortress earlier. Twilight had blown out the doors, anyway.

She started whistling a happy tune, but got interrupted by a bright flash of purple light behind her. She turned around with a start, and gasped for breath.
“Y... y-you’re... dead!”
“Not quite,” Twilight said mockingly as she stepped forwards, her eyes glowing with magical might. “But you soon will be.”
“I-I’m not scared of you, Twilight! You were a fool to show up here by yourself, you should’ve gone for help, but now I’ll-”
Twilight swathed her aside with a burst of magical energy, and the fuchsia-coloured mare crashed into a nearby wall, groaning in pain as she tried to get back up to her hooves.

“I’m not alone,” Twilight said menacingly as she lifted Cheerilee into the air and pulled her closer, staring into the teacher’s fear-filled eyes, “my friends are with me.”
“T-that’s... that’s... impossible,” Cheerilee managed to grunt. From the way every breath caused a stinging pain to flare up in her chest, she knew she’d probably broken a rib or two. She needed to get away, fast, but the unicorn was just so incredibly... powerful. Her mind raced as she tried to come up with a plan, but her intellect failed her as she sank deeper and deeper into a blind state of panic. Was this what her victims had felt?

“Nothing is impossible for the Element of Magic,” Twilight sneered as she threw Cheerilee towards the other side of the street, slamming her against a wall once more. Blood ran down the mare’s face, and dark spots swarmed in front of her eyes. She tried to get up, but instantly toppled over again.
Twilight pulled Cheerilee towards her once more, and the earth pony dug her forelegs into the ground, trying to resist. It didn’t help, she just clawed deep grooves into the ground. Within moments she was dangling in front of the unicorn once again, and she felt an invisible force grasp her around the throat.

“Ggh... w-wait...” she said hoarsely, “h-have... m-mercy... I... I d-did it... all... for the g-good... o-of... Ponyville...”
Twilight glared at her angrily, her face contorted into a snarl. Her voice, on the other hand, was calm, dangerously so. “Mercy? Like you showed my friends... and your students?”
“I had... n-no... c-choice,” Cheerilee said as she struggled against her invisible bonds, her face slowly going red.
Twilight laughed maniacally, a sound eerily similar to Cheerilee during her ‘purifications’. “Don’t give me that!” she yelled, enraged. “I know you enjoyed it, Cheerilee, you enjoyed every second of it! You liked watching my friends die, you liked stamping the life out of them... out of me! Anything you say... it’s just a rationalisation for your own twisted desires!”

“N... no... I... to save... P-pony... ville... I...”
“Need to DIE!” Twilight finished the sentence for her, consumed by fury as magical energy flared up around her, illuminating the night.
Ponies from the nearby houses started to become aware that there was something more than just two drunks yelling at each other going on outside, and the lights were turned on all around. The two ponies in the middle of the street didn’t notice, or perhaps they simply didn’t care.
Cheerilee tried to verbally justify herself again, but Twilight was out of patience. With a cry of rage she rammed a bolt of magical energy into Cheerilee’s mouth, shattering the mare’s teeth as she grabbed hold of her tongue, ripping it out savagely and tossing it aside. It slammed into a nearby wall with a sickening thud, practically bursting apart in a cloud of gore. Cheerilee let out a sloppy, gurgling cry as her eyes burst in her sockets, and cuts appeared all over her body.

The storm of magical energy around Twilight intensified, winds swirling around the pair, sweeping up dust and small pieces of rock.
“Ghgngh! Ngah!” Cheerilee screamed as her body got battered from every direction, blood streaming down her face, body and legs, as her intestines got pulled straight out of her stomach. Foam appeared on her lips, and had she still possessed eyes they would no doubt have rolled back in her head.
Twilight focused all of her magical reserves into the other mare, attempting to tear her apart. It wasn’t just Cheerilee’s limbs which suddenly wanted to get away from each other: every inch of her body tried to escape the whole.

“You talked about weeds, right, RIGHT?” Twilight screamed, her voice contorted with madness. “I don’t know much about gardening, but I know one thing: you reap what you sow!”
Cheerilee tried to appeal to the unicorn one last time, but between the pain, her lack of a tongue and her rapidly weakening body, she only managed to utter some unintelligible sounds.
“You’ve sown death across this town, so I hope you’re ready... for your scarlet harvest!”
The teacher wailed as her body groaned under the strain, and then, suddenly, she could resist no more. She burst into a thousand pieces, splattering into every direction. A rain of blood descended upon the area, painting the ground, the nearby houses and Twilight in a deep hue of red. Little bits and pieces likewise got catapulted through the air, crashing into buildings and splattering up against windows, causing the horrified ponies who hadn’t been able to resist watching to jump away in fear and hide inside of their houses.

Finally, the last bits of Cheerilee landed, and Twilight swayed upon her legs. She had used up most of the energy her friends had given her, and she realised she was, once again, at the end of the line. But she was content; her friends had been avenged, and future murders had been prevented. Maybe she’d see her friends on the other side. There was no reason to linger as a spirit this time, so maybe she could go see what the afterlife was really all about.
She fell to the ground with a smile, and looked up towards the stars as they started to appear in the sky. As she began drifting out of consciousness, she thought she saw a large shadow pass over, like a cart flying by. She tried to shake her head to get rid of the tricks her mind was playing on her, but found she couldn’t move at all.

Her eyes fell shut, and she felt as if she was being lifted into the sky. She heard a concerned, soothing voice talk to her, although she couldn’t make out the words. Was that... Princess Celestia? Twilight beamed. What a pleasant dream to leave this world on...